Category: Giveaways

Even though I’ve never had a gluten-free holiday in the past, as the honorary dairy-free gal in the free-from foodie club, I was invited to join in on the Home for the Holidays: Gluten-Free Styleevent, hosted by Shirley at Gluten Free Easily. Truthfully, the timing couldn’t be better, as by coincidence (seriously, this is just a coincidence) we will be having our first gluten-free and dairy-free Christmas this year.

Now, the idea of Home for the Holidays is to share a gluten-free recipe that says both “home” and “holidays” to me. I liked this concept, but honestly, I was a bit uncertain about what to post. With a small family scattered around five states / provinces, holidays have become less about tradition for my husband and I, and more about relaxing. While I definitely do not want to get rid of the relaxation part, I’m eager to “settle down” and inject a little more love into the season. So I’m digging deep into my childhood memories, past the toys and gifts, to the things that truly meant the most to me at Christmas.

One wonderful memory that I have is my mother baking dozens of mini-loaves of pumpkin bread to give as gifts. It was a traditional present that she baked up every single year for friends and neighbors, and it filled the house with such warmth and an unforgettable sweet and spicy aroma. She was a bit of a perfectionist, so I wasn’t allowed to help with the baking process, and thus had no “tried and true” family recipe to start with. Not to mention, with Tony on a gluten-free and egg-free diet, conventional recipes just wouldn’t do.

I searched all around for egg-free, gluten-free pumpkin bread recipes, and found a few, but all of them were so different! Which one would work best, and what could I safely modify? It was all so overwhelming that I scrapped the lot and I winged it. That’s right, sans recipe, I threw together a quick bread that is free of the top eight allergens and gluten-free to boot!

And you know what? It turned out fantastic on the first batch! Now that is something that doesn’t happen very often. It must be the magic of the holidays.

Recipe: Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Summary: This pumpkin bread has a wonderfully tender (yet cohesive) crumb that hits the sweet spot in texture, not too moist, not too dry. I didn’t get out of control with the sugars, so though it is dessert-like, it’s also passable as a brunch-style treat. We loved snacking on it plain (especially when warm), or even slathered with some dairy-free margarine or nut butter.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, oil, maple syrup, water, and vanilla.

Stir in the flour mixture until all is just combined. It actually becomes smooth quickly.

Divide the batter between your prepared tins, smoothing out the tops with the back of a spoon or spatula, since it will be a little thick.

Bake the bread for 45 to 55 minutes, or until firm to the touch. The bread should pull slightly away from the pan when done, and will be lightly browned, but a toothpick inserted may yield a few very small crumbs, so I didn’t rely on the toothpick test.

Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes, before popping them out to cool completely on a wire rack.

Resist the urge to cut into these loaves while still hot. Like any bread, they will be a bit crumbly when hot, but firm up perfectly as they cool.

Quick notes

This recipe was baked at sea level. Note that egg-free AND gluten-free bread becomes trickier at high altitude. It may still work, but I haven’t tested it as of yet. Also, you may need to add a little more liquid at high altitude or in very dry climates.

Variations

If desired, before baking, sprinkle the tops of the loaves with a little cinnamon and sugar or with coconut sugar, for a little extra crunch and sweet.

This recipe should work well as muffins (will make about one dozen) and as a large loaf (use a 9×5 pan). Since I haven’t tested these, use your best judgment on the baking time. I would start with 22 minutes on muffins, and watch them from there. For a large loaf, it will probably take at least 60 to 70 minutes of baking time.

Leave a Comment telling me which book(s) and/or subscription you would like to win AND one of your favorite holiday traditions.

For a second entry, share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, or via email to friends, and leave a second comment telling me that you’ve shared it. Don’t forget to leave this second comment for your second entry!

This giveaway is open to entries worldwide! The entries will close Tuesday, December 20th at midnight (PST), so enter now!

Note: If you want to join in on the Home for the Holidays event, feel free to grab the badge above and use it in your own gluten-free recipe post. Be sure to link back to the Home for the Holidays event page so that Shirley sees your post!

Even when we know the right things to do- it is so easy to get derailed by the busyness of everyday. Suddenly that time when we can eat the best food possible, look and feel amazing becomes some foggy lensed vision of the way off magical time in the future when we have all the hours in the world.

You know what I’m talking about, right?

Well, the adorable Ms. Meghan Telpner, the Toronto-based nutritonista you may know from her blog Making Love In The Kitchen is here to the rescue.

She has put together the ultimate detox program. Now this is not one of those lame, cheesy fad detoxes that requires you to starve yourself while pumping your bod full of supplements and laxatives. No way. Not her style. Meghan and her team have put together a Food Detox! The ladies over there have named it The Fab Uplift Detox Program. And wouldn’t you know, she is giving away a few spots in this program, and one of them is for one of you! (read on)

Included in the program is all of the following:

A full 16-Day Detox Program ebook which you can download immediately upon registration.

4 day pre-cleanse coaching tips and recipes.

8 Day Cleanse program including meal plan, shopping list and recipes.

4-Day Post Cleanse guidelines.

Loads of info on why you should detox, what it means to detox, what this detox entails, and how to keep it going after the sixteen days have passed.

A daily email offering tips and support, progress, and bonus recipes.

Daily tweet coaching tips throughout the day (follow at #fabdetox)

Group TweetChat on Sunday, November 20th at 9:00pm EST

Live stream video chats with Meghan and her team (Scheduled for Friday November 18th and Friday, November 25th at 11:00am EST)

Email support throughout the main eight days of the detox with my resident nutritionists Alexa and Jill

Extra sweet incentive: At the end of the cleanse, send in a before + after on how you feel or a general testimonial and you will be entered to win some of our most fave detox goodies from some of our most fave detox loving brands.

To note, participation in Meghan’s Detox is valued at $79, though if you register on Monday, November 7th, the cost is just $69 and you can live anywhere in the world to participate.

Congrats to Jsv888, who responded, “I would love to try the unsweetened almond milk in my latte and on my sons oatmeal since we are both dairy free!” to the Earth’s Own + Whole Foods Giveaway. She is the winner! Now onto the next giveaway …

I know, it’s like giveaway central around here lately! I’ll have a killer recipe coming soon, but first … I received a fun challenge from Stonehouse 27 and Lundberg Family Farms, involving a review, a recipe, and a giveaway for readers. It wasn’t something I could pass up. For my part, I was required to pick one sauce, one Lundberg Heat n Serve Rice Bowl, and add just three more ingredients to make a meal. Easy enough …

First, those extremely bold Stonehouse 27 sauces come in six varieties, so an initial selection had to be made. Alas, you would think (or at least hope) that sauces called Cashews & Cream would be thickened with cashew crème, but no such luck. I’ll have to work on making those two sauces dairy-free at home. Regardless, with four amazing flavors to choose from, I decided to whip up a gluten-free and dairy-free recipe with the Dates & Tamarind sauce. The label said that it goes well with two ingredients that I had on hand, pork and bell peppers (note: the dairy-free sauces are vegan, so you can easily enjoy them with just vegetables and/or tofu for a vegetarian meal).

Before adding the sauce I gave it a quick taste test, and boy was I glad I did! This stuff is SPICY! At that moment I decided to make my fifth ingredient coconut milk – something to tame the heat a touch and add a little richness to the final dish …

Instructions

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to simmer until the meat is cooked through (mine took about 10 minutes).

When the sauce is almost done, heat up the rice in a saucepan or in the microwave.

Divide the rice between to large bowls and top with the sauce.

Variations

If they would have allowed 6 ingredients, my final addition would have been pumpkin puree. I swirled some into leftovers, with a wee bit of salt, and it upped the flavor to a new level. For vegan or vegetarian, use tofu.

To Enter: Comment below and tell me what 5 Sauces you would select (you can get more than one of a single flavor if you wish!) and if you can think of one, what 5-minute recipe you would make first with one of these sauces!

To Enter: Simply comment on this post, and let me know if you have ever had crispbread and if so, your favorite way to eat it! I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday, Oct 5th, so enter now!

Personally, I’ve enjoyed their crispbread with almond butter, in meatballs, and in this party mix recipe …

Party gnome approve. Hope you enjoy it too!

Recipe: Sweet, Salty, Spicy, Crispy Party Mix

Summary: This mix combines an array of textures and flavors for a little bit of everything. It isn’t overly sweet or overly spicy as is, but you can certainly amp it up if desired. The flavors meld nicely when the mix is allowed to rest, so I make it earlty in the day or night before and store in an airtight container. This recipe is adapted from the Cooking with Crispbread cookbook.

Ingredients

1-1/2 Cups Broken Crispbread Pieces (I used the Rosemary WASA)

1 Tablespoon Oil or Dairy-Free Margarine (I used coconut oil for a rich and buttery flavor without margarine)